Use of dental floss remains one of the most recommended ways of preventing and controlling gum disease. Several types of floss are currently known and used. These flosses are made of materials such as nylon, polyethylene, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), and expanded PTFE (ePTFE). Of these, ePTFE floss, and particularly monofilament ePTFE floss, is particularly preferred, in part because of its inherently low friction properties which allow it to slide between teeth more easily.
Certain characteristics are typically considered desirable for dental floss. First, the floss should be abrasion resistant such that it does not shred, fray, or otherwise break during use when passed between a user's teeth. In order to be used effectively, the dental floss should also be grippable; that is, able to be grasped by a user's hands or other device for manipulation between the teeth without slipping in the hands or other device. Several attempts have been made at making PTFE flosses more easily grippable. As discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,012 to Dolan, et al., for example, a waxed coating may be placed over the PTFE fiber in order to make the floss more grippable. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,911,228 to Curtis, et al, a solid additive is incorporated within the PTFE fiber structure in order to make the fiber grippable without the need for any coating. A grippable PTFE floss that did not require the use of either a coating on the fiber or additives within the fiber in order to make it grippable, would be desirable.
A dental floss should also have the subjective advantage of having a good “feel” for the user. The feel includes the overall handling characteristics of the fiber as well as the perceived effect of the fiber in a user's mouth as it cleans the teeth. Desirably, a PTFE dental floss should be soft and conformable to slide comfortably between a user's teeth, while at the same time providing a scrubbing or cleaning sensation for the user when manipulated under the gums. The floss should have a soft feel to the hands and a rough feel in the mouth.
A PTFE floss having all of these advantages and characteristics would be desirable.